[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 14 (Friday, January 22, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3767-3768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01143]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2015-0125; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-BB07
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status
for 49 Species From the Hawaiian Islands
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period, and announcement of
public information meeting and hearing.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
reopening of the comment period on our September 30, 2015, proposed
rule to list 49 species from the Hawaiian Islands, including the
Hawaiian distinct population segment of the band-rumped storm-petrel
(Oceanodroma castro), the orangeblack Hawaiian damselfly (Megalagrion
xanthomelas), the anchialine pool shrimp (Procaris hawaiana), seven
yellow-faced bees (Hylaeus anthracinus, H. assimulans, H. facilis, H.
hilaris, H. kuakea, H. longiceps, and H. mana), and 39 endemic plant
species, as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (Act). We now reopen the public comment period on the
proposed rule for an additional 30 days and announce a public
information meeting and public hearing on the proposed rule. We are
reopening the public comment period and holding a public hearing to
allow all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on
the proposed rule.
DATES: Written Comments: We will consider comments received or
postmarked on or before February 22, 2016 or at the public hearing.
Please note comments submitted electronically using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59
p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Any comments that we receive
after the closing date may not be considered in the final decision on
these actions.
Public Information Meeting and Public Hearing: We will hold a
public information meeting, followed by a public hearing, on Tuesday,
February 9, 2016. The public information meeting will be held from 5:00
p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the public hearing will be held from 6:00 p.m.
to 8:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: You may obtain copies of the proposed
rule at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2015-0125;
from the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office's Web site (http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands); or by contacting the Pacific Islands Fish
and Wildlife Office directly (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Comment Submission: You may submit comments by one of the following
methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R1-ES-2015-0125,
which is the docket number for this action. You may submit a comment by
clicking on ``Comment Now!''
(2) By hard copy: Submit comments on the proposed listing rule by
U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-
R1-ES-2015-0125; Division of Policy, Performance, and Management
Programs; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike;
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
(3) At the public hearing: Interested parties may provide oral or
written comments at the public hearing.
We request that you provide comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see the Public Comments section, below, for more information).
Public Information Meeting and Public Hearing: The public
information meeting and public hearing will be held at Aunty Sally
Kaleohano's Luau Hale, 799 Piilani Street, Hilo, HI 96720.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Abrams, Field Supervisor, Pacific
Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI
96850; by telephone at 808-792-9400; or by facsimile at 808-792-9581.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments
On September 30, 2015, we published in the Federal Register a
proposed rule to list 49 species from the Hawaiian Islands as
endangered species (80 FR 58820). We accepted public comments on the
proposed rule for 60 days, ending November 30, 2015. During the comment
period, we received a request to hold a public hearing and to extend
the public comment period on the proposed rule. In order to ensure that
[[Page 3768]]
the public has an adequate opportunity to review and comment, we are
reopening the comment period on our September 30, 2015, proposed rule
for an additional 30 days. We will accept comments and information
until the date specified above in DATES or at the public hearing. We
will consider all information and recommendations we receive from all
interested parties.
For details on specific information that we are requesting, please
see the Information Requested section of our proposed rule (80 FR
58820; September 30, 2015). The proposed rule is available at the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (see
ADDRESSES, above). Our final determination concerning the proposed
rulemaking will take into consideration all written and oral comments
and any additional information we receive. If you previously submitted
comments or information on the proposed rule, please do not resubmit
them. We have incorporated them into the public record, and we will
fully consider them in our final determination.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment that
includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top
of your document that we withhold this information from public review.
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2015-0125 or by appointment, during normal business hours, at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Public Information Meeting and Public Hearing
We will hold a public information meeting and public hearing on the
date listed above in the DATES section at the location listed above in
the ADDRESSES section. The public information meeting is an opportunity
for Service staff to provide information and address questions on the
proposed rule; at the public hearing, we accept formal verbal testimony
on the proposed rule.
Anyone wishing to make an oral statement at a public hearing for
the record is encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement
to us at the hearing. In the event there is a large attendance, the
time allotted for oral statements may be limited. Speakers can sign up
at a hearing if they desire to make an oral statement. Oral and written
statements receive equal consideration. There are no limits on the
length of written comments submitted to us.
People needing reasonable accommodation in order to attend and
participate in the public information meeting or public hearing should
contact Mary Abrams, Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands Fish and
Wildlife Office, as soon as possible (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: January 5, 2016.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-01143 Filed 1-21-16; 8:45 am]
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